Pets are always popular at Christmas, but make sure it's the right one

Saturday

Nov 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2008 at 7:41 PM

Finding the perfect gift for someone special is nearly impossible.

Perfect gifts, always, pick you.

Erin Pustay

Finding the perfect gift for someone special is nearly impossible.
Perfect gifts, always, pick you.
Christmas, in part, is about finding that perfect gift for the person you dearly love. A gift that brings a brilliant smile to their face and lets their eyes light up with excitement.
More than 200 perfect gifts are waiting for a perfect home at the Stark County Humane Society.
There’s something magical about waking up Christmas morning and finding a puppy or a kitten wearing a big, red bow. It’s a gift that Lou Criswell, director of the Stark County Humane Society, does not discourage. But it’s a gift that he encourages families to think through.
“We are closed Christmas day, the day before and the day after,” Criswell explained. “We had people coming in at the last minute for a dog ... then we saw them all coming back in the day after Christmas.”
Yep. Puppies and kittens can be the ultimate impulse buy – and rightly so. Have you seen those little faces?
Shop for yourself
If giving a dog or cat as a gift to someone special is something on a person’s mind, Criswell encourages those people to shop the Humane Society.
But it’s a shopping trip that should be done with the person receiving the gift.
“There’s a connection that is made,” Criswell said. “The animal almost always adopts (you).”
Not long ago, Criswell remembers a large man coming in and looking specifically for a Great Dane. The man went back to see a Dane the shelter had just gotten in and came out carrying a Chihuahua that fit in the palm of his massive hand.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what happened back there. I just fell in love with this little guy,’” Criswell recalls.
That’s usually how it works. The animals at the Humane Society make connections with the people who adopt them. Also, the right dog or cat for one person may not be the perfect dog or cat for the person’s mom, dad, sister or kids.
For that reason, Criswell said, it’s nearly impossible to pick out a dog or cat for a loved one or friend. Sometimes, he said, a dog or cat may warm up to the person who is purchasing the animal but not the person receiving the gift.
So, unless the shopping is with the person who will be loving and taking care of the animal, the Humane Society may have a better option – gift certificates. They can be purchased for the exact cost of adopting a dog or cat and can be wrapped up with a small stuffed pup or kitten.
“We’ve found a world of success with that because you can wrap it up and put it under the tree for Christmas,” Criswell said. “And that person gets to pick the dog or cat that is best for them.”
Cats and kittens
Dogs need very good homes, there’s no denying that. But there are a whole lot of cats that need someone special to love and care for them.
Nearly every room at Humane Society has a small space that is dedicated to cats. In fact, the numbers became so overwhelming that some areas where the dogs are taken care of had to be revamped to make room for more cats.
“The cat over-population is overwhelming,” Criswell said, leading a tour of the facility. “We ran out of room, so we had to convert some space with the dogs.”
That plan, however, seems to work out well. When visitors walk into the room, the dogs go crazy, barking their hellos, wagging their tails and standing up to greet the visitors. The commotion doesn’t seem to phase the felines, who yawn, stretch and sit up to see what all the fuss is about.
“This works,” Criswell said of the animals sharing the same space, “because most of the cats who are adopted go to homes that already have dogs.”
Age is just a number
There are few worries about the littlest of the animals at the Louisville-based shelter.
“The puppies and kittens always find homes,” Criswell said.
It’s the adults that he worries about. Two years ago, the Humane Society launched a campaign that reminded all of Stark County: “You are never too old to be loved.”
While there are a fair number of newborns at the shelter, it’s the adult cats and dogs who are taking up the most space.
“Adult animals make lifelong friends,” Criswell said. “A lot of them are good dogs, who – through no fault of their own – have no place to go.”
Most of the adult animals who were relinquished to the shelter arrived because their owners – often an elderly adult who passed away or had to enter a nursing facility – could no longer care for them.
All of them, Criswell said, just want to find a new home.
Perfect companions
A lot of dogs arrive at the shelter because they are too overwhelming to care for. Sometimes, they are a little more rambunctious than expected. Other times those puppies grew up to be big dogs.
So before making a dog or cat a Christmas gift, make sure it’s one that will be right for the family. Most shelters, like the Humane Society, should be able to tell a person which animals need special attention, which would be good with children and which wouldn’t do well with other cats or dogs in the same house.
Most people – and rightly so – will adopt an animal that they think is just the cutest thing they’ve ever seen. It’s a wonderful way to find a pet – picking the one who is heart-melting. But sometimes the cutest dog is not the best fit for the family.
Labradors, for example, are adorable – especially in the puppy phase – which makes them one of the most adopted breed of dogs. But they’re hyper and need to be walked and played with and loved seemingly nonstop.
“That’s the joke,” Criswell said, “labs are puppies for the first three years.”
Caring for a dog like a lab may end up being more than a family bargains for and the task becomes overwhelming. So while labs are the most adopted breed in the United States, they are also the most-euthanized because they end up at crowded shelters and never find a way to another home.
That’s why the Humane Society or another shelter may be the perfect place to find a dog. Labrador mixes, for example, may still have that adorable lab face, but they may have the calming personality of another breed such as a German Shepherd.
“I used to be a purebred snob,” Criswell said with a laugh. “Now, I absolutely believe that mutts are the best dogs.”
If somebody wants to be sure that a specific dog or breed is right for them, they can find detailed information about the breeds on Web sites such as www.petfinder.com.

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There are many cats and dog that are looking for new homes. Yours might be the perfect place:
• The Stark County Humane Society is located at 5100 Peach Street, Louisville, 44641. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The shelter is closed Wednesdays and holidays.
For more information, contact 330-453-5529 or visit www.starkhumane.com
• Animals available for adoption from other local shelters – including the Stark County Dog Warden – can be found online by logging onto
www.petfinder.com.

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